FAMU football vs Alabama A&M prediction, X-Factors for Week 12 SWAC game
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Florida A&M football is looking to string together consecutive wins for the second time this season to even its record.
Standing in the Rattlers’ way are the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
The teams will meet in a Week 12 Southwestern Athletic Conference game at Huntsville’s Louis Crews Stadium this Saturday, Nov. 15.
Kickoff is at 3 p.m. on SWAC TV. Tallahassee radio station 96.1 JAMZ will provide additional commentary.
FAMU (4-5, 3-2 in SWAC) is fresh off winning a 31-28 nailbiter at Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Saturday, Nov. 8. Meanwhile, Alabama A&M (4-6, 1-5 in SWAC) lost at home 48-5 to SWAC West leader Prairie View A&M.
The Rattlers and the Bulldogs have both experienced their struggles, with FAMU sitting at No. 4 in the SWAC East and Alabama A&M following at No. 5 out of six teams in the division.
Alabama A&M’s hardships have been of a greater degree than those of FAMU. The Bulldogs are on a three-game losing streak.
But will it matter this Saturday?
Let’s take a look at X-Factors from each team and predict the score from the FAMU at Alabama A&M game.
FAMU running backs Thad Franklin Jr. and Jamal Hailey
In the Rattlers’ two most recent wins versus Southern (43-35) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both on the road, they have had a 100-yard rusher.
At Southern, it was running back Jamal Hailey who rushed 19 times for 157 yards and added three touchdowns. Last week at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, preseason HBCU All-American running back Thad Franklin had 26 rushing attempts for 122 yards and a touchdown.
FAMU had 206 rushing yards versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff, its second-best run game showing on the season.
“A major part of our offense is being able to run the football and get the ball to our playmakers,” said FAMU head coach James Colzie III. “Thad Franklin and Jamal Hailey fit both of those roles.”
Despite being 10th in rushing out of 12 SWAC teams, FAMU has shown flashes of being able to weaponize its ground game against opposing defenses. Altogether, the Rattlers average 128.4 rushing yards per game.
Alabama A&M has the worst run defense in the SWAC, giving up 200.8 yards per game. The Bulldogs allowed Prairie View A&M to eclipse that average last week with 213 rushing yards.
“Going into the season, that was something that we were trying to make sure we could start off doing well,” Colzie said. “We were hoping to be a little further ahead in the run game.”
Alabama A&M Wide Receiver Franck Pierre
Alabama A&M’s season has taken a turn for the worse after its starting quarterback, Quad Brown, suffered a season-ending injury six games into the season.
The Bulldogs were 3-3 at the time.
Four different quarterbacks have taken snaps for Alabama A&M this season.
Last week, Eric Handley got the start for the Bulldogs. He completed 18 of 36 passing attempts for 101 yards against Prairie View A&M. Ashley Tucker Jr. also played as all three of his passes fell incomplete.
“We have a ‘next man up’ mentality here,” Alabama A&M head coach Sam Shade said. “We’ve gone all the way to playing our fourth-string quarterback this season.”
Regardless of who’s throwing passes, Alabama A&M has one of the SWAC’s top wide receivers this season, Franck Pierre.
The redshirt junior has 29 receptions for 507 yards and five touchdowns. Pierre’s yardage and touchdowns both rank sixth in the SWAC.
Other productive Alabama A&M receivers are Daveon Walker, a former FAMU commit, and Travaunta Abner.
FAMU’s defensive backs have shown vulnerability in the passing game. FAMU gives up 214.1 yards through the air per game, seventh in the SWAC.
“They have a great core of wide receivers,” Colzie said of Alabama A&M.
Can FAMU football or Alabama A&M hold a lead?
FAMU got a scare from Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week after taking a 17-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The matchup turned into a back-and-forth contest as FAMU let Arkansas-Pine Bluff score 21 fourth-quarter points. The Rattlers never let Arkansas-Pine Bluff take the lead and squeaked out the win.
Alabama A&M has also struggled to hold advantages over opponents the last two weeks.
In Week 10, Alabama A&M held a 10-0 first-quarter lead over Grambling State two weeks ago. The Bulldogs never scored again and lost to Grambling 13-10.
Against Prairie View A&M last week, Alabama A&M kicked a field goal and forced a safety. The Bulldogs led 5-0 early in the second quarter.
They never scored again in the blowout loss.
Whoever can play a more complete game will prevail in the FAMU at Alabama A&M SWAC matchup.
Gerald Thomas, III Official Score Prediction: FAMU 34, Alabama A&M 19
Florida A&M (4-5, 3-2 in SWAC) at Alabama A&M (4-6, 1-5 in SWAC)
- When: Saturday, Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time
- Where: Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama
- TV/Radio: SWAC TV, 96.1 JAMZ
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football at Alabama A&M prediction, Thad Franklin will be valuable
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